Toward extradition of fugitives

As Sino-Canadian cooperation is expected to expand after Premier Li Keqiang's recent visit to Canada, many Chinese now wonder how long Michael Ching, one of China's most-wanted fugitives, will be allowed to stay in the North American country. Ching, known in China as Cheng Muyang, is among the dozens of major Chinese fugitives living in Canada.

The Chinese authorities issued a "Red Notice" at the end of 2014 to hunt down major corrupt officials who have fled abroad. But the campaign has encountered difficulties in some countries because of their different judicial systems and the absence of bilateral extradition treaties.

Li's visit was the first by a Chinese premier to Canada in 13 years, and came within a month of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to China, heralding stronger bilateral relations. The near future could see the two sides also engaging in judicial cooperation.

It is believed that signing an extradition treaty between Beijing and Ottawa may mark a major breakthrough in China's efforts to pursue judicial cooperation with Western countries. Once the obstacles to cooperation are removed China's efforts to bring those fugitives to justice will succeed.

China has been working to weave an institutional network by signing extradition treaties with the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, top overseas destinations where corrupt Chinese officials seek shelter, to plug the institutional loopholes used by the fugitives. However, due to their ideological differences and prejudiced perspectives, some Western countries have remained reluctant to cooperate with China in this area and even politicized the issue by distorting China's human rights record.

No extradition treaty was inked during Premier Li's recent visit to Canada, but the two sides' agreement on sharing and returning recovered assets from fugitives still marks a step toward removing the technical hurdles for the signing of such a treaty.